Spec Saver customer service

Garyapple

I had the misfortune to have my eyes tested at the Weston S Mare branch of Spec Savers today.

I was very disappointed with the level of service and professional expertise shown by the reception staff and especially by the optician.

During my eye test whilst seeing what level of correction I needed the optician told me that the results were close enough even though I stated the letters were still a little blurry. He seemed to be in a real rush to finish and get me out of the room.

Then after the "test" I was perfunctually told choose frames and then we'll deal with you.

Needless to say I didn't choose any frames and now will have to get my eyes re-tested somewhere else as I have no confidence in the "test" from Spec Savers.

Perhaps, it was because I was entitled to a NHS voucher that my treatment was so prefunctuary and test so shoddy.

Has anyone else experienced similar at Spec savers?

Ste_C

Yes, and as a result I started using my local independent optician.

Specsavers have endless sales targets to meet and they are too pushy. They made me feel like a customer and not a patient. I know they're a business, but didn't feel comfortable with them.

pmduk

Actually I moved to the Salford branch of Specsavers because I had a similar problem with another chain of opticians.

The_Wall

Have to say that my local Spec Savers is very good, and I recommended them to my OH, who got terrible customer service from D&A, who also finds them very good.

But like any chain, just because one store is bad or good, doesn't mean that the rest are all the same.

Absinthe_Fairy

I had a bad experience with one branch of Specsavers - the senior optician got my eye test wrong, and I had to have another test and get the lenses in my new glasses changed.

However I then moved to the Cambridge branch and they were brilliant - dealt wonderfully and patiently with the fallout from the other branch's mistakes!

mishkanorman

Garyapple wrote: »

I had the misfortune to have my eyes tested at the Weston S Mare branch of Spec Savers today.

I was very disappointed with the level of service and professional expertise shown by the reception staff and especially by the optician.

During my eye test whilst seeing what level of correction I needed the optician told me that the results were close enough even though I stated the letters were still a little blurry. He seemed to be in a real rush to finish and get me out of the room.

Then after the "test" I was perfunctually told choose frames and then we'll deal with you.

Needless to say I didn't choose any frames and now will have to get my eyes re-tested somewhere else as I have no confidence in the "test" from Spec Savers.

Perhaps, it was because I was entitled to a NHS voucher that my treatment was so prefunctuary and test so shoddy.

Has anyone else experienced similar at Spec savers?

actually you are being very unfair here, you have no idea the eye test was shoddy, until you have a re-test.

if you would like a second opinion you are quite entitled to one but be aware if the results are the same then you will need to pay for the second test. (if you have another NHS test elsewhere, if you return to specsavers and tell them you felt a little rushed they will more than likely re-book you with an alternative optom. for free)

After the test the staff would normally give you some time to browse the store and consider your options before giving you a sales pitch, if they started the second the test was over many people would feel pressured into buying !

NHS and private patients all receive the same level of service, if you feel this is not up to your standard then I would suggest a private practice that will have 1 optician on site and will only have 1 customer in the store at a time. (you will still be entitled to an nhs test and voucher but will only receive basic voucher value off your specs)


mishka

Garyapple

Just a update,

The store director contacted me in reply to my complaint and as a result I had a more professional eye test today, one which took at least 1/2 an hour instead of the 10 minutes I got the first time.

As a result, my original presciption from the first test was incorrect, in fact a fairly large error, and on top of this the optician has referred me for tests at the nearest eye hospital, because she detected the early symptoms of glucoma.

It is pretty frightening to realise that only because I complained and got the professional service that should have been provided first time round, I could have gone undected for a further 2 years.

This has really just confirmed for me that Spec Savers treat their free NHS sight tests as second class customers, even if it means people could suffer serious loss of sight due to sloppy practices.

tidus

It is highly unlikely that your NHS status had anything to do with it. Specsavers recieve just over £20 for doing an NHS sight test. Private sight test fees at Specsavers are rarely more than £20, so often they recieve a higher fee for NHS work.

The bottom line is Specsavers are cheap but operate a stack em' high policy - its all about numbers. Do not go there expecting a high quality examination. They need high numbers and this equates to quick examinations.

Amistoso_2

mishkanorman wrote: »

actually you are being very unfair here, you have no idea the eye test was shoddy, until you have a re-test.

if you would like a second opinion you are quite entitled to one but be aware if the results are the same then you will need to pay for the second test. (if you have another NHS test elsewhere, if you return to specsavers and tell them you felt a little rushed they will more than likely re-book you with an alternative optom. for free)

After the test the staff would normally give you some time to browse the store and consider your options before giving you a sales pitch, if they started the second the test was over many people would feel pressured into buying !

NHS and private patients all receive the same level of service, if you feel this is not up to your standard then I would suggest a private practice that will have 1 optician on site and will only have 1 customer in the store at a time. (you will still be entitled to an nhs test and voucher but will only receive basic voucher value off your specs)


mishka

Don't happen to work for specsavers then do you? :rolleyes:

Glad you got it sorted OP, have to say I recently used specsavers and had really good service from them

Fuzzy_Duck

I can never quite make up my mind about Specsavers! When buying glasses they've generally been good to me. They take their time with the test and although I usually hate being hassled when choosing glasses, their staff have always picked me out flattering ones and been honest in their opinion of what suits me. They never forced me into buying all the extras for my lenses either.

Contact lenses on the other hand was an absolute shambles. I wanted to switch to another contact brand which is always time consuming but on this occasion it was a joke. They either didn't have my contacts after telling me to come in and collect them, or didn't have record of my appointment. When I did finally get my contacts the person checking my eyes gave me the third degree about them, and when I said I took them out at night (I had continuous wear ones but I wanted to give my eyes a rest) I was told I was using them wrong and they'd take them off me if I kept doing it. So, I lied after that :rolleyes: I got a different person testing my eyes each time, all of them foreign and unable to speak much english. All of them nagged at me to keep the contacts in my eyes 24/7, which I knew was unhealthy.

I finally saw an english speaking practitioner who was much better and said I was right to rest my eyes, and that very few people can keep the lenses in all month, but she did have a problem peeling back my eyelids... She tried about 20 times before getting it right and I left with extremely sore eyes!

What I will say though is the floor staff were always very polite and helpful. When I came in every week to find my journey had been wasted they were always apologetic and I remember one woman in particular insisted on sorting it out herself when she realised what was going on, and ranted about how awful Specsavers were to work for.

Oh, and I forgot to mention they invited me to contact check ups every month or so rather than every 6 months, so I found myself in there all the time practically tearing my hair out because they wouldn't listen that I'd already been a few weeks ago. I had to go in every time and insist they check their database to prove my point. The OH also has problems with his Specsavers branch, which is a right pain because neither of us live near our branches anymore and they never want to listen over the phone.

Apologies for long rant but they really do have some issues they need to sort- one of my friends worked for them and she chose unemployment over working for them because she couldn't stand it anymore!

matt1975

I too have had a bad experience with specsavers, was persuaded by my wife to give them a go as my prescription is quite complex, thus making it expensive so she assured me that they have always been god to her, anyway cutting a long story short, bad eye test, it took 3 pairs of lenses to finally get a pair that were bearable to see out of and the glasses I ordered as a backup to my contact lenses came back looking like a 2 year old had made them, chips all around the edges of the lenses etc etc.

To top it all the bill was nearly £400, approx £250 for the contacts, shopped around on line and got a better brand of lense at postoptics for £115.

I suppose you get what you pay for with them but I would feel beeter on the high street at vision express or dolland & aitchinson.